Stories, opinions, views of a person from and of a place often in India's blind-spot.

quarantine

As India entered the 21-day period of lockdown to curb the spread of Covid19, in Arunachal Pradesh two divergent developments took place.
The nationwide lockdown began on March 25 following the March 22 janata curfew announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But even before the prime minister’s announcement, the states of Nagaland and Mizoram had already decided to extend the curfew. The state government here had announced the continuation of the janata curfew from the evening of March 23 till March 31 which has since been extended.
With shop timings being regulated, the scramble for groceries began as people had a hard time sticking to social distancing measures. While the administration got strict with the implementation of the curfew, online delivery services swooped in to fulfill the shopping needs of residents of Capital Complex.
Doni Riba began his ‘Hungryji’ food delivery service in February of last year, filling in an area that Zomato specializes in. Having gained experience from Hungryji, he started flirting with the idea of a delivery service to cater to the town’s population.
While the development of the idea began in April last year, the Dukandada app was officially launched on March 10, just days before the country entered the lockdown period.
Since then, he and his team have been kept busy.

Doni Riba and his Dukandada team

Even before Dukandada though, 30-year-old Epie Jamoh had launched her online delivery service for Itanagar and its adjoining towns.
In January last year, U Tell Us was officially announced (think small-town Urban Clap). What started with a staff of 17, in one year’s time the company now has 37 employees providing various services including ambulances for hire.
Its CEO, Dhananjay Morang, said that since the lockdown began, they have seen a surge in orders.
“Earlier we used to get around 50 calls a day but now there are around 500 calls coming in daily,” Morang said.
Even though calls have increased, the relatively small staff means that they are able to fulfill only around 200-plus orders on a daily basis.
He said that the endorsement from chief minister Pema Khandu certainly played a role in bringing publicity to online services like U Tell Us and Dukandada.
The overwhelming response from the people meant that Riba had to close orders in the Dukandada app by 2 pm.
“We were getting around 300 orders at first but had to limit the number to ensure we are able to meet the demands,” said Riba.
In smaller towns where panic and rumours spread fast, Riba faced a unique problem when a number of his delivery staff stopped coming in to work.
“We had 15 delivery boys but most of them are not being allowed to leave their homes by their families,” he said.
Riba had to make rapid hirings to continue the service.
And while the businesses are doing well, they’ve had their own share of issues.
The services may have received the chief minister’s endorsement but on the ground, the constant stopping by police at checkpoints is hindering timely delivery.
Riba said that there seems to be a lack of coordination between the administration and the police.
“The police don’t seem to be aware of the administration’s orders regarding the lockdown,” he said, adding that things will get more confusing with the implementation of section 144 of the CrPc starting today.
The U Tell Us’ CEO is even more miffed with the police.
“In our meeting with the administration, we were told to ensure that the staff wears their uniform including the cap with the company logo. Even then the police stop us,” Morang said.
He alleged that recently two of the company’s female staff were stopped and ‘harassed’ by the cops.

Epie Jamoh, the woman behind U Tell Us

Elsewhere in smaller towns and rural areas of the state, lockdown appears to have been better accepted.
In the Adi tribal areas, local residents began implementing the traditional lockdown system called ‘Pator/Motor’ a day before the national curfew.
In areas where the Galo people live, the villagers implemented the Ali-Ternam prohibiting the entry and exit of people into and from the villages two days after it begins.
In both cases, the lockdown begins with the reading of the liver of chickens- a ritual called haruspicy in Latin that was also practiced in ancient Rome and Greece- by a shaman.
These traditional lockdowns involve barricading villages with bamboo gates and the sacrificing of certain animals.
Ayem Modi, a local youth leader in Lower Dibang Valley district’s Dambuk town, and his friends have been taking turns on sentry duty since March 23.
“We have two teams of five people on roster guarding the gates,” he said.
The ancient pator ritual also involves the sacrificing of an animal- in this case, a dog -which is then hanged at the gates.
The fact that a dead dog was left to hang and rot in public space did not go down well with the district administration and the deputy commissioner had to issue an official order prohibiting it.
That has done little to deter villagers though.
“We don’t do this for celebrations. This ritual is done in times of calamities including epidemics that inflict animals,” Modi explained.
In Kamki village in West Siang district, no dogs were harmed but at least five chickens and one pig was sacrificed to keep the disease at bay.

The gate to Kamki village. (Pic by Bomdo Kamki)

Bomdo Kamki from the eponymous village had to cancel his plans to visit Itanagar when the Ali-Ternam was implemented. He is with 300 of his clansmen and women currently under the lockdown.
Both he and Modi said that these are not new to their tribes and that these traditions have been in place for generations. The belief is that the ritual keeps the bad spirits in abeyance and stops it from harming the villagers.
The ‘bad spirit’ in this case is the coronavirus.
As for their ration needs, the villages are better equipped considering that most families grow their own grains and vegetables. Many even keep chicken, pigs, and the bovine mithun which can feed the meaty desires.
“We only need to make sure that the supply of salt does not stop,” Kamki said.